Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized President Lee Jae-myung and Korea Heritage Service Commissioner Heo Min's remarks about damage to the Jongmyo skyline related to redevelopment of the Sewoon District 4, calling their questions and answers a superficial back-and-forth. He also reaffirmed the stance to continue pushing the Sewoon District 4 project as originally planned.
On the 17th, the mayor posted on Facebook an article titled "Let's not pretend to know what we don't." In the post, the mayor said, "Watching the question-and-answer session on the Sewoon district development during yesterday's presidential work briefing, I could not help but lament that such a weighty agenda as Seoul's future urban development could be treated so lightly."
Earlier, during the Korea Heritage Service work briefing the previous day, when President Lee asked, "There has been controversy because of Jongmyo; how is it going?" Heo Min, the Korea Heritage Service commissioner, answered, "First, we designated the Jongmyo area as a World Heritage district, and if the World Heritage Act passes in March next year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will have to undergo a World Heritage impact assessment for (Sewoon District 4)."
In response, the mayor said, "The president tossed out a question, and the Korea Heritage Service commissioner disparaged us as if the Seoul Metropolitan Government had caused a problem with preserving Jongmyo, and went further to overstate and conclude that amending the law to require a World Heritage impact assessment could block development of the Sewoon district." He also argued, "The commissioner's remark about 'regulating by law' is a very serious matter that could effectively bring to a halt not only the Sewoon district but also redevelopment and development across all of Seoul, including the northern districts, and it directly clashes with the future-Seoul urban vision of 'Again, the golden age of northern Seoul' that the city is pursuing."
The mayor also cited President Lee's recent remark that "pretending to know when you don't is worse," criticizing that "through a superficial question-and-answer, they ultimately belittled the Seoul Metropolitan Government's efforts to transform into a future city." He added, "We will stand up clearly with citizens against any attempt to block the dreams of the northern districts and hinder Seoul's innovation," emphasizing, "There must be no more backsliding in Seoul."